2008 Woodie Awards
STAND urges administration to divest from Sudan
Allison Heiser
Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: News/Features
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Three million civilians driven from their homes. At least 200,000 killed. Civil war since 1983. This is only a cursory statistical snapshot of the crisis in Darfur that former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called "little short of hell on Earth." The United States government, along with the U.N., has proclaimed a genocide being committed by the Sudanese government. In an attempt to combat this destruction and death, student groups across the U.S. are trying to spread information about the conflict. Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) is a national student organization with a chapter here at Vanderbilt. STAND, which began at Georgetown University in Sept. 2004 and now claims over 190 chapters in the U.S. and Canada, speaks out against the crisis in Darfur, raising awareness and money for aid, educating the Vanderbilt community about the crisis and volunteering to help Sudanese refugees in Nashville.
One of STAND's most recent efforts has involved talking with the Vanderbilt administration about the possibility of the cutting the university's ties with organizations that do business with the Sudanese government. According to the national STAND organization, local chapters should target companies that "have a business relationship with the government or a government-created project of Sudan, impart minimal benefit to the country's underprivileged, and have demonstrated no substantial corporate governance policy regarding the Darfur situation."
Here at Vanderbilt, divestment would result in an examination of Vanderbilt's investments, and assurance the university isn't involved with companies that support the Sudanese government.
"It's a complicated, targeted divestment process," said senior Jonathan White, co-president of STAND. "It started at the University of California at San Diego, and they have formulated a sophisticated and thorough approach to doing this. Their method has been applied at top-tier universities around the country, as well as in seven state governments (including California and Illinois)."
One of STAND's most recent efforts has involved talking with the Vanderbilt administration about the possibility of the cutting the university's ties with organizations that do business with the Sudanese government. According to the national STAND organization, local chapters should target companies that "have a business relationship with the government or a government-created project of Sudan, impart minimal benefit to the country's underprivileged, and have demonstrated no substantial corporate governance policy regarding the Darfur situation."
Here at Vanderbilt, divestment would result in an examination of Vanderbilt's investments, and assurance the university isn't involved with companies that support the Sudanese government.
"It's a complicated, targeted divestment process," said senior Jonathan White, co-president of STAND. "It started at the University of California at San Diego, and they have formulated a sophisticated and thorough approach to doing this. Their method has been applied at top-tier universities around the country, as well as in seven state governments (including California and Illinois)."
Be the first to comment on this story